Kevin O’Connell Absolved as J.J. McCarthy Embarrasses Himself at Minnesota Twins After Dallas Turner’s Air Mail

Oops, that was an embarrassing miss! The Minnesota Vikings rookie players, J.J. McCarthy, and Dallas Turner, are preparing themselves for the 2024 battle. But before the season began, they tried their luck in baseball.

The baseball team, Minnesota Twins, like other squads, have hot dog specials, outdoor games, and invites local celebrities to throw their first pitch. This time, Vikings rookies McCarthy and Turner came forth to show off their pitching skills, only resulting in a shocker.

How did J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner play?

Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy threw his first pitch, along with edge rusher Dallas Turner on Tuesday night at Target Field. And the QB reportedly threw the worst first pitch in the Minnesota Twins’ history. The MLFootball official X page shared a video of the quarterback throwing his first pitch over the plate, along with a caption: “#Vikings rookie QB J.J. McCarthy WITH ONE OF THE WORST FIRST PITCHES IN RECENT MEMORY.”

McCarthy couldn’t do as he was seen jumping in embarrassment on the field. Although it wasn’t as bad as 50 Cent’s first pitch at a New York Mets game from years ago, it was somewhat around there. He missed the catcher by 10 feet. That’s a huge gap! But what about Turner?

Well, as per reporter Declan Goff, “Dallas Turner went before McCarthy, and he air-mailed one to the netting behind the plate.” So, it was a miss for him too. Nevertheless, they are NFL players who just went for an athletic throw instead of actually pitching.

Apart from that, the Vikings QB situation was fumbling for a few weeks here in the NFL. The confusion was whether they would choose Sam Darnold as their no. 1 or J.J. McCarthy. However, it’s likely that coach Kevin O’Connell has put faith in his newly-signed QB, Darnold as their starter–a disappointment for McCarthy here too!

Kevin O’Connell trusts Sam Darnold!

The Minnesota Vikings traded up to select J.J. McCarthy with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, signaling their belief in him as the quarterback for the future. However, he may not be an immediate starter. During OTAs, head coach Kevin O’Connell identified newly signed quarterback Sam Darnold as the current starting quarterback due to his performance and experience. According to reports, Darnold, who joined the team in a one-year, $10 million deal after a year as a backup for the 49ers, has impressed O’Connell.

Besides Darnold, the coach also praised the progress of his other quarterbacks, including McCarthy, Nick Mullens, and Jaren Hall, emphasizing that the current depth chart could change. He reminded his quarterbacks that past depth charts mean little about future starting positions, especially given that the team used four different quarterbacks last season, including one who joined late and still managed to win a game.

So, it remains to be seen who finally picks up as the starter for the QB role and how well he stands up to the expectations of the team. Who do you have your bets on? Let us know in the comments.